Should Pagans Preach?

Should a Pagan preach? There are hundreds of people willing to be teachers of magick and witchcraft. But there are little or any pagans that try to preach. Now the subject matter here is what is important. No pagans are supposed to go around and try to convert people to Paganism. What about p5reaching aka talking about how to present oneself or act in the world.

We know that certain things are right and wrong, but we don't have anyone telling the world how we feel and view things. There are a few people that  talk  about how racism has entered some of the Norse pagans groups.  But people outside of the pagan world only see what  they  can easily find or what  is thrown in front of them.  We know that  there are a slight few Norse groups that  have neo-Nazi members, and they  use those beliefs as a shield or excuse to  act the way they  do. A vast majority of the Norse focused Pagans are anti-racism , and are disgusted with  these actions. 

We are all  told to "be silent".  We shouldn't ruffle feathers and get the ire of sensitive Christians that  can't handle anyone believing differently than themselves.  Being Silent, be scared, and being kept hidden has also  kept us from forming a community and a voice.  Saying that  our  Pagan Community is fragmented is being nice.  We lack so  much from being a community, we are our worst enemies.  We are over-protective of our personal beliefs and we will  go  against anyone that  would try to  lead us because somehow he doesn't understand you perfectly. How dare that  Strega tell a Celtic what  he should do!!  This is also  due to  our past history with  the Christian church, we don't want anyone to  tell us how and what  to  believe.

So how do  we get past this? We won't never really get past this.  I  was talking to  a friend yesterday  and she mentioned that  most Pagan groups last about 3 years and then  everything falls apart and then a new group or groups form from the wreckage.  This is a continuing struggle with  this.  We are so  distrusting of others when it comes to  our beliefs that  we will  destroy the group to  protect ourselves. We think  that  we are right on everything, that  we can't allow someone that  doesn't think  like you to  be in control for long. 

What  the Pagan community needs is someone, but better yet some people that  would be willing to  take the blunt of the opposing attitudes and rise up  to  show what  a Pagan community could be.  I  have been focusing on the Roku  channel  for Pagans.  It is a two  sided sword with  electrodes connected to  it.  This could give the Pagan community a voice that  could be heard around the world.  A platform that  any  opposing group couldn't take down.  one whole category could be Pagan news videos.  SO  people on the east coast would know what  is happening on the west coast, and vice versa.  It would be a way to  let solitary  practitioners that  they  aren't alone.  Categories can be used by  predominant pagans on YouTube adding interesting content  and educating others about what  Paganism is and isn't.  But toes will  be stepped on, people that  aren't comfortable that  anyone was speaking about Paganism, will  be enraged. The thick skin required to  stand up  would be amazed and draining.  If a group was to  stand up,  everything they  do  would be over analyzed and twisted against them.  SO  a You tuber that  joined the group of people speaking about Paganism could face a public out lash that  could ruin a Pagan You Tube channel, but it could also  energize it as well.

What  does this have to  do  with  Preaching?  EVERYTHING.....   I  am going to  continue the research  and structuring of this Roku Pagan channel idea.  I  am wanting one category to  be about spirituality and ethics. I  personally would not allow a hell fire and brimstone  video on the channel.  But a set of videos talking about Pagan ethics and spirituality would work  to  explain to  the world how we Pagans think and practice.  There would be a category devoted to  education.  SO outsiders looking in could learn what  the difference is on so many  traditions.  This channel  would be about the spirituality of Pagans.  Not about converting, but  promoting understanding about Paganism in its many  forms.

How would I  preach  about spirituality of Pagans?  I  would start with  talking about ethics. There is this concept about  "Character Counts". 6  pillars used to  being a better person.  Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.  Pagans focus on the divine and the magic , but little is focused here.  But I  believe that  we need someone to  focus on the character of Pagans to  show us in a better light.  Citizenship is about being part of a community, but  so many  of us are loners or very  distrusting.  If we can't have citizenship, we can never have a community.

I  would then continue talking about different aspects as they  relate to  other traditions.  Now one of the reasons I  am  motivated to  do  this is the also  educate some of those that  oppose Pagans,  some of those people are open to  reason and so  reason must be used.   Look  at how they  relate all  pagans as devil worshippers that  perform ridiculous rituals.  Have a video  showing how the wiccan rede makes those claim mute.  Of course that  would only cover the Wiccans, but they  are a part of the Pagan community. 

Would you as part of the Pagan community speak  for or against someone that  stood up and refused to  be silent.? Would you give that  person a chance before condemning that  person?  Are you wanting to  be part of a bigger community?

Pagan Roku Channel

     Recently I  have upgraded my streaming options with  Roku. A marvelous little device that  more than triples my viewing pleasure. I  discovered that  in Roku  they  have a "special interest" section. In this special section you can have custom made channels of any  theme that you wanted.  Well this section had 1298  channels, 99%  of them were Religious channels. I  went through the channels one by  one looking for something that  I  might like. 95%  of all  those religious channels were Christian. With  the majority of the civilized world being Christian, I  understood why  it would be that  way. I  found about 40  channels that  were Islamic in theme. I  found roughly ten channels for the Hindu  and Jewish  faith each.  I  found an Atheist channel, which  shocked the heck  out of me, and I  subscribed to it. Near the bottom I  even found Buddhist channel, I  added that  to  my  list. But  I  never found a single Pagan themed channel, and that  bothered me greatly.

     So I  did  some research  and I  learned that  anyone can create a Roku  channel. It is a free service to  create.  After all, the more channels that  Roku  can claim the better it does in promoting itself. I  thought that  I  could create a Roku  channel  along with  my youtube channel,  I  can use the URL's from YouTube as the links for the Roku  channel.  I  spent a couple days  dwelling on how to  handle this and the bigger picture. The Pagan community doesn't have a voice that  can be streamed across the US or the World.  I  decided to  figure out a plan to  build a Streaming network that  could  give the Pagan community at large a voice.

     I  really want this to  work, and so  I  decided that  I  was going to  need a lot of content and money to  back  this up.  I  hate this part of my  idea because there are so many  frauds out there. I  have been watching a lot of Roku streaming and most channels have roughly 10  categories for programming.  Such as the Comedy, Sci-fi, horror, classic TV, and so  forth. I  could sell 7 slots of the channel to  people that  do  many  YouTube videos that  have a strong pagan focus and following.  I  would want two  slots for myself, one for random Pagan videos, and the other for a Pagan teaching video  set that  I  am working on.  The remaining slot would be open for various YouTube Pagans that  create videos at  a slower pace or for important news affecting the Pagan communities.  The last  channel  could be used to  broadcast videos from Pagans that  are passed away but have a large following such as Scott Cunningham.

     How much money? I  don't know, honestly I  am still working on the requirements to  maintain and update the channel before I  give a price.  I  don't have a timeframe either,  but  it shouldn't take long to  set-up  the accounts with  Roku.  The price can be reduced by  adding commercials to  the channel.  It would go under Google AdSense.

     This brings up  many  topics that  have to  be covered. What  is allowed and what  isn't. As long as it has a Pagan theme and it isn't a long commercial for a person's witch shop,  I  think it should be allowed.  I  have seen too  many  YouTube videos where the person references her online store 3-4 times.  How long will the video be available? I  have to  see what  the storage limits are on  these channel services. My  favorite streaming channel  gives each category 200 options. If this holds true, until you submit your 201st video, all  other videos will  be available.

     But the Biggest concern that  I  have is a simple one. Would you watch a Roku  Pagan channel ? If one was created to  have popular content, remain fresh with  new content,  and give the community news, would you support it? Honesty is needed, if you wouldn't watch it, please tell me. No reason to  make this if nobody turned it on.

    How would I  get the money?  Well I  was thinking of a Kickstarter campaign. Thus people can donate what  they  want.  I  was thinking about how the rewards would work.  A small donation would get your name and a Link  to  you posted on a thanks video. Another level would get a video of your choice(as long as it was pagan themed) posted on that  community category  that  I  described.  The last level would be for purchasing of a category.  Like I  said the money part hasn't been figured out.  But lets say  that  I  set a level as any  donation over $300.00 would buy  a category on the Pagan channel.  And thus guaranteeing  you having a category on the Pagan Roku  Channel.

I  need opinions and criticisms.  I  have a lot to  work  out before I  can provide a more structured presentation.  But I  need to  know if this is a good or bad idea. Thanks for your time.